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Recent Tech Offers and The Pursuit of Financial Freedom
Navigating Lucrative Offers While Keeping Your FIRE Dreams Alive
Shirl Laurel by Clarusway
June 02, 2024
In partnership with
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Today's newsletter is special. We'll share insights from an accomplished FAANG FIRE. His name is Dave Anderson! Dave spent over 12 years at Amazon, Facebook, and Bezos Academy before hitting eject and FIREing in May 2021. He now enjoys FIRE life near Seattle with his wife, teenage son, and younger daughter. Dave also writes a top technology career and leadership newsletter on Substack called Scarlet Ink. Before his insights here are the recent offers ;
Table of Contents
The power to make and break habits and learning how to do that is really important.
Software Engineering and Tech Market In May 2024
The Pursuit of Financial Freedom
Let me tell you about my journey to financial independence. It all started back in 2006 when I stumbled upon this concept. That's when I shifted my mindset from thinking about retirement as an age to a specific financial number. From then on, I became obsessed. I made spreadsheets. I updated forecasts religiously. Finally, in late 2019, we hit our target. We had enough to live comfortably for the rest of our lives. But you know what's funny? Achieving that goal threw me for a loop. I had spent over 15 years translating every raise into increased savings. Every expense was a roadblock to freedom. Then, suddenly, that obsession was over. No more calculations or data tracking. Now, why did I pursue this path? For many, it's about hating their job. Not me though. I actually enjoyed working at Amazon with brilliant minds. My drive came from wanting personal independence. The idea that someone's opinion could impact my family's security gave me anxiety. I needed to remove that power others had over me.
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Your Money Mindset Should Change
From college, we're taught to chase maximum money. Promotions, raises, better jobs - that's the goal. This mindset makes sense early on. There are two key factors - spending and income. Increasing income is crucial. More money directly speeds up reaching financial independence. Every extra dollar gets you there faster. If you work at a big tech company, that's likely your prime earning opportunity. Investing in your career and boosting earnings is highly efficient. My final year's income was over 20 times my starting salary. Career growth is extremely valuable in this phase. However, as you approach financial independence, this mindset must evolve. The FIRE math shows how much you truly need for your desired lifestyle - the "enough" point. Once there, additional money has decreasing marginal utility. Each extra dollar provides less satisfaction or benefit. More spending won't drastically improve happiness. The key transition? Recognizing when you've hit your "enough" number. Then your focus shifts from maximizing income to optimizing other factors like work-life balance. It's a fundamental mindset change, but grasping this pivot is game-changing.
Time Is No Longer Money
Time and money used to be directly linked for me. When working, I didn't have enough hours in the day. It made more sense to just pay for things like home repairs. Why spend my limited free time replacing a kitchen sink? I had the income, so it was efficient to outsource that work. But now that I'm financially independent, that mindset has flipped. Time is no longer strictly about earning money. Instead, I can choose to spend time on activities that bring me fulfillment and life satisfaction. Like learning how to do renovations myself - building a chicken run or swapping out that sink. Is it the most efficient use of my time from an income perspective? Nope. But I get satisfaction from doing those projects with my own hands. When you're still trading time for money, it's hard to justify that kind of "inefficient" use of your limited free hours. But without that constraint, I can spend time however I want - even on menial tasks - if they bring me joy and life enrichment. It's a total mindset shift.
Don't Retire From Something, Retire To Something
When you retire from your full-time job, you'll have 45-50 extra hours (or more) per week. It can be tough to stay motivated if you're used to working for years. Some people struggle to fill their time, while others have no issues. Don't just retire to escape your job. If you dislike your current work, find a better job. It's depressing to save money just to get away from something. Instead, plan ahead and retire to something meaningful. Retire to write that newsletter you've always wanted to. Retire to travel the world. Carefully think about what's worth your life energy. Retire to pursue your passions and goals, not just to avoid work.
Money-Making Hobbies Can Be Fun
You've spent your career focused on making money. But now that you may not need to work, some hesitate to consider money-making hobbies. At first, I had no intention to make money in retirement. I associated working with stress, deadlines, and corporate pressure. However, I started a paid newsletter and loved it. I thought making $10k for a family vacation would be fun. But I didn't realize the opportunities for those with free time. Being financially independent and an entrepreneur is amazing. You have ideas from your corporate days, but no boss telling you what to do or coworkers disagreeing. I love doing whatever I want with my business - like changing the logo on a whim. Someone successful in corporate may find surprising joy innovating their own business, without money pressure, with total freedom.
We hope you enjoyed our newsletter this week. We offer various free resources, guidance and mentoring. Feel free to reach out us at [email protected] and we would be happy to help. Why not you secure one this high paying jobs?
